Playground

ABSTRACT

The invention relates to a playground comprising a number of pillars of a circular cross sectional area, and a series of playground elements including floor panels and side panels, and a series of brackets for attachment of the playground elements to the pillars. The brackets comprise an element coupling portion adapted to be fastened to a playground element and a pillar coupling portion adapted to be fastened to a side portion of a pillar. Here, the pillar coupling portion comprising a contact face curved to lie against pillar and a boring for receiving a fastening member which is oriented such that the bracket when fastened to the pillar is attached by the fastening member inserted from the bracket and into the pillar in a radial direction of the pillar. The series of brackets comprises brackets with element coupling portions adapted to be fastened to each of the playground elements in the series of playground elements, and all the brackets in the series comprise essentially identical pillar coupling portions such that all the brackets are adapted to be attached to the pillars in the same way. The invention also relates to a method of assembling such a playground. The series of playground elements may include floor panels, side panels, a series of bars of predefined diameters and chains.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a U.S. National Phase Application of PCTInternational Application Number PCT/EP2015/055892, filed on Mar. 20,2015, designating the United States of America and published in theEnglish language, which is an International Application of and claimsthe benefit of priority to European Patent Application No. 1416097.2,filed on Mar. 21, 2014. The disclosures of the above-referencedapplications are hereby expressly incorporated by reference in theirentireties.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a playground comprising a number ofpillars, a series of playground elements including floor panels and sidepanels, and a series of brackets for attachment of the playgroundelements to the pillars. The invention further relates to a method ofassembling or setting up such playground.

BACKGROUND

Traditionally, playgrounds are designed and dimensioned to theirspecific location, primary target users such as pre-school children,children aged 6-9, teenagers or even adults, and potentially with aspecific theme or purpose such as an educational theme, a historic themeor designed with a view to maximize for example the physical or creativeactivity for the users. Each playground therefore is designed andconstructed with a specific number of slides attached to some platforms,a number of houses or pavilions etc, and where the pillars, bars, guardpanels, floor elements, spacers, coverings etc. are then adapted fromdifferent standard components or specially manufactured for thatspecific playground.

In order to be able to create and market a large number of differentplaygrounds and cover the different customer needs, the playgroundmanufacturers therefore traditionally need to have and maintain acatalogue comprising a very large number of different parts orcomponents, which however makes the production more costly.

Also, already established playgrounds are often difficult and expensiveto expand or modify, and may be too complex and expensive to adapt orchange into being oriented towards another group of users. A furtherdisadvantage is, that a relatively large number of different componentsand parts makes the building of a playground relatively complicated,work intensive and time consuming as the different components andelements are assembled by a correspondingly large number of differentattachment means involving different brackets, clamping bolts, screws,flanges etc.

Different ways of fastening floor panels, guard panels and the likeplayground elements to load carrying pillars are known. In EP0085452 theplayground elements are fastened to pillars made of wood by means ofclamping bolts inserted in through going bores in the pillars andsupporting elements on outer faces on both sides of the pillars. InEP0462039 the elements are fastened by means of clamping rings orcollars bolted together around the pillar.

Such fastening means however disadvantageously are not well suited ifmore elements are to be attached to the same pillar at the same heightwithout having to somehow specially adapt the attachment means andtherefore do not promote later expansion or modification of theplayground. Further, all these types of attachment meansdisadvantageously protrude from the pillar and therefore reduces thesafety of the users playing or running around the playground.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

It is therefore an object of embodiments of the present invention toovercome or at least reduce some or all of the above describeddisadvantages of the known playground products by providing a playgroundwhich is modular and which has improved possibilities for expansion andmodifications both during establishment and later.

It is a further object of embodiments of the invention to provide aplayground which can be built from a reduced number of differentcomponents.

It is a yet further object of embodiments of the invention to provide aplayground of elements which are simple and fast to assemble and with animproved safety for the user of the playground.

In accordance with the invention this is obtained by a playgroundcomprising a number of pillars of a circular cross sectional area, aseries of playground elements including floor panels and side panels,and a series of brackets for attachment of the playground elements tothe pillars. All the brackets in the series of brackets comprise anelement coupling portion adapted to be fastened to a playground elementand a pillar coupling portion adapted to be fastened to a side portionof a pillar. The pillar coupling portion comprising a contact facecurved to lie against the side portion of the pillar and a boring forreceiving a fastening member to be inserted a distance into the pillar.The boring is oriented in a direction approximately perpendicular to thecurved contact face such that the bracket when fastened to the pillar isattached by the fastening member inserted from the bracket and into thepillar in a radial direction of the pillar. The series of bracketscomprises brackets with element coupling portions adapted to be fastenedto each of the playground elements in the series of playground elements,and all the brackets in the series of brackets comprise essentiallyidentical pillar coupling portions such that all the brackets areadapted to be attached to the pillars in the same way.

Hereby is obtained playground which can be constructed in part orcompletely as a modular playground. The playground can be built in anunlimited number of different ways and sizes by the use of the pillarsas the load carrying structure onto which the different types and sizesof playground elements are attached as desired by means of the series ofbrackets. In this way the same playground elements and pillars can beused to create completely different playgrounds for example designedwith a view to stimulate different ways of playing, or directed towardsusers of different ages, abilities, or interests. Because of thebrackets being attached to only a side portion of the pillars, multiplebrackets can be attached next to or close to each other enabling forexample more floor elements to be placed in abutment forming anassembled larger floor or a bar to continue on the other side of apillar in the same height. This can be realized with the same bracketswithout having to construct specially adapted brackets for the purpose.Hereby the number of different types of brackets needed to obtain thisin principle unlimited freedom of combination is kept to a minimum whichmakes the manufacture of the playground less expensive. Also theassembly and building of the playground simplified greatly because ofthe reduced number of different parts to handle and mount.

The series of playground elements comprises the elements that are to beplaced in between and carried by the pillars and forming the basicshapes of the modular playground. The series may be reduced to arelatively few different basic types of elements such as some or all offloor panels to be placed horizontally between the pillars, side panelsto be placed vertically between the pillars, bars to be placedhorizontally or at an angle between the pillars, and chains or ropes.Each type of basic playground element in the series of elements may thenbe manufactured in a prescribed number of shapes, sizes (area, lengthsand diameters), materials, and colours and patterns. In addition to thisseries of playground elements, the playground may then be equipped withother types of playground components such as slides, swings, nets,tubes, turning wheels, ladders, roof elements, elements for decorationetc.

The pillar coupling portion of a bracket is adapted to be fastened to aside portion of a pillar by which is understood that the pillar couplingportion only extends over a part of the circumference of the pillar andis not clamped around the pillar.

Due to the attachment of the brackets by a fastening member insertedinto the pillar, and as the brackets are attached to only a side portionof the pillar, multiple brackets can be attached to the same pillar in aside by side relationship or at essentially the same height of thepillar. This facilitates the modularity of the playground so that partof or the entire playground can be constructed and built by a limitednumber of different types and sizes of playground elements which arethen assembled as desired. Further, the attachment of the brackets isadvantageous by avoiding any protruding parts such other than thebracket itself only on the one side of the pillar. This is especiallyimportant in the context of playground equipment where the safety of theusers is a key issue, and everything is done to prevent for examplecloth getting caught somewhere during playing.

The pillar coupling portion may extend over a side portion of a certainangular width of the pillar such as for example 10-15 degrees, 25-30degrees, 35-45 degrees, 55-60 degrees, 85-90 degrees, or 90-110 degrees.By angular width is here and in the following understood the angularextension of the portion as attached to a pillar as seen in a top view(i.e. in a plane perpendicular to a central axis of the pillar) and asmeasured from the centre of the pillar. This is also illustrated inFIGS. 3, 19, and 21. The use of brackets with an angular width ofapproximately 30, 45, 60 or 90 degrees is advantageous in facilitatingthe modularity of the playground by being built up around rectangularand/or triangular basic shapes. Smaller brackets of angular widths inthe interval of 10-15 degrees are advantageous in allowing two bracketsto be placed next to each other within a corner of 60 degrees. Forexample two side panels or rails placed along two sides of a triangularfloor panel with a 30 degree corner.

As the pillars have a circular cross sectional area and are cylindrical,the brackets can be placed equally well at any position around thepillars. Further, the cylindrical pillars simplify the building of theplayground as no care has to be taken on how to orient the pillars whenbuilding. The pillars all have the same diameter for one series ofbrackets. This reduces the number of brackets needed to attach allplayground elements to a pillar to a minimum and simplifies theconstruction of the playground correspondingly. In an embodiment thepillars have a uniform outer diameter of approximately 0.1 m. Thepillars can have the same or different lengths without affecting themodularity of the playground. The pillar lengths only influence how highup above the ground the different playground elements can be placed.

Each of the brackets in the series of brackets comprises an elementcoupling portion corresponding to one of the elements in the series ofelements. In this way the series of brackets comprises a floor panelbracket, a side panel bracket etc. Some or all of the brackets maycomprise more than one element coupling portion so that the bracket maybe adapted to be fastened to more playground elements optionally at thesame time. A bracket may for example be adapted to fasten to both a sidepanel and floor panel or to either of them. The series of bracketscomprises one or more brackets for each playground element in the seriesof playground elements.

All the brackets in the series of brackets comprise essentiallyidentical pillar coupling portions such that all the brackets areadapted to be attached to the pillars in the same way. In other wordsthe brackets all comprise similar pillar coupling portions with a curvedcontact face and a boring oriented so that the bracket can be attachedto the pillar by a fastening member inserted into the bore of thebracket and into the pillar in a radial direction of the pillar. Byidentical pillar coupling portions is meant that the portion of eachbracket comprises the same constructional elements defining theattachment, however details of no importance to the attachment such ase.g. colour, length of the boring etc. may be the same as well, or mayvary.

Because the brackets are attached by means of fastening members orientedto-center and essentially perpendicularly to the contact face, the samebrackets can be fastened equally well to solid pillars as well as tohollow pillars. This therefore increases the freedom of the playgroundconstruction while keeping the number of necessary components to aminimum.

The same pillar coupling interface for all the brackets in the seriesfacilitates the same attachment regardless of the pillar material andwhether it is solid or hollow, and regardless of which type or size ofplayground element is to be fastened. Further, the same tools can beused for the attachment of all the brackets which makes the mounting andbuilding of the playground much more simple and fast, and reduces therisk of mistakes.

The attachment of the brackets from the bracket side is furtheradvantageous in making is easier to attach the bracket while holding itin the desired position. This even more so, when more elements are to beattached close to each other on the same pillar, which is often thecase.

The boring in the pillar coupling portion may be threaded to receive acorrespondingly threaded fastening member and may comprise a contactface for a head of the fastening member.

The pillars of the playground may all be of the same material or ofdifferent materials. An advantage of the series of brackets according tothe invention is that the same brackets can be used when building ormodifying the playground regardless of the material of the pillars andregardless of the pillars are hollow or solid.

In an embodiment of the invention some or all of the pillars of theplayground are solid pillars and the fastening member comprises screws.Hereby the brackets and thereby the playground elements can be fastenedto the pillars without any preparation of the pillars as each bracketcan be simple screwed directly into a pillar. This further makes itsimple to enlarge or modify already existing playgrounds, as any newplayground elements can be attached to the existing pillars simply byfastening the corresponding brackets where desired.

In general, the pillars may optionally be predrilled before attachingthe brackets. As the brackets are attached by screws to the solidpillars, multiple brackets can be attached to the same pillar in a sideby side relationship or at essentially the same height of the pillarfacilitating the modularity of the playground. Further, the attachmentof the brackets by means of screws is advantageous as the screw does notprotrude from the pillar which is especially important on a playgroundwhere risk of any being injured in any way during play is to beminimized.

In an embodiment of the invention, some or all of the pillars of theplayground are hollow pillars and the fastening member comprises boltsand nuts. The bolts are then simply fastened to the pillar wall. By theuse of hollow pillars is obtained a more lightweight construction withthe same or better strength properties. As mentioned above in relationto the use of solid pillars and screws, the attachment of the bracketsto the hollow pillars by means of bolts likewise facilitate multiplebrackets to be attached to the same pillar in a side by siderelationship or at essentially the same height of the pillar. Hereby theplayground can be partly or completely modular and can be constructedand built by a limited number of different types and sizes of playgroundelements which are then assembled as desired. Further, the attachment ofthe brackets by means of bolts fastened to the hollow pillars is alsoadvantageous by avoiding any protruding parts. As mentioned above, thisis especially important in the context of playgrounds where the safetyof the users is a key issue.

In an embodiment, some or all of the pillars are made of wood, or ametal such as steel or aluminium. In an embodiment, some or all of thepillars are made of a composite material such as a plastic or carbonreinforced material. Hereby is obtained a strong but relatively lightload carrying structure for the playground and a material with optimalweather resistance properties.

According to an embodiment of the invention, one or more of the bracketsof the series of brackets comprises two pillar coupling portionsarranged on the bracket such that the bracket is attached to the pillarby means of two fastening members inserted into the pillar at differentheights and in two different radial directions. Hereby is obtained astronger attachment of the bracket to the pillar, which may beespecially advantageous when attaching for example larger floor panelsor bars intended to carry higher loads. By placing the two pillarcoupling portions at different heights and not directly below each otheris obtained an increased torsional stiffness and strength of theconnection while maintaining the to-center fastening of the fasteningmembers. The placement of the two pillar coupling portions and thecorresponding openings or bores into the pillar further reduces thestrength of the pillar minimally and the risk of cracking the pillar incase of wooden pillars.

In an embodiment, the fastening member is inserted a distance into thepillar, the distance being smaller than the diameter of the pillar. Asmentioned previously, this ensures the fastening member does notprotrude in any way from the pillar which would otherwise impose asafety risk to the playground and a need for the protruding part to beremoved, covered or otherwise shielded off.

According to a further embodiment of the invention, all the brackets ofthe series of brackets when attached to a pillar have an angular widthof less than 90 degrees as measured from the center of the pillar and ina plane perpendicularly to the center axis of the pillar. As mentionedpreviously this advantageously facilitates the modularity of theplayground by enabling more brackets and thereby playground elements tobe placed side by side on the same height of the pillar.

In an embodiment of the playground, a bracket in the series of bracketsfurther comprises a cover detachably mounted to the bracket such as tocover the fastening member when inserted into the pillar. The cover canbe formed to cover any protruding parts of the bracket. Hereby thebracket is given a smooth outer surface without any protruding partswhich is paramount to establish a satisfactory safety of the playground.Also, the cover hereby acts to reduce the risk of wear and rust on theload carrying parts of the bracket or the fastening member increasingthe lifetime of the playground and its components.

The cover can be shaped to extend between the pillar and the playgroundelement such as to shield off the pillar coupling portion and theelement coupling portion of the bracket. Hereby the connection partswith any corners, protruding or extending parts are shielded off suchthat the risk of bruises and scratches is reduced. Also, the coverhereby provides a more smooth transition between the pillars and thedifferent playground elements.

The cover can be detachably mounted to cover any protruding parts of thebracket and/or cover a gap between the bracket and the playgroundelement. Hereby is ensured that shoe laces, clothing, fingers etc. ofplaying children cannot get caught in any gaps when moving around on theplayground which is of the highest importance as well as a standardrequirement to most playground equipment to avoid the risk of otherwisepotentially severe accidents. Especially the closing off or removal ofgaps is important since clothing etc. may get firmly caught and stuck ingaps so hard that a child cannot get free on its own.

In a further embodiment of the invention, the series of playgroundelements further includes a series of bars of predefined diameters,and/or a chain.

According to a further embodiment of the invention, the series ofbrackets comprises a bar bracket with an element coupling portionadapted to be fastened to an end of a cylindrical bar, and wherein theelement coupling portion is oriented such that when the bar is fastenedto a pillar by the bracket, then the bar extends in a radial directionof the pillar.

In a further embodiment, the series of brackets comprises a floor panelbracket with an element coupling portion adapted to be fastened to acorner portion of a floor panel, and wherein the element couplingportion is oriented such that when the floor panel is fastened to apillar by the bracket, then the edges of the floor panel extends in aradial direction of the pillar.

According to a further embodiment of the invention, the series ofbrackets comprises a side panel bracket with an element coupling portionadapted to be fastened to a face of a side panel, and wherein theelement coupling portion is oriented such that when the side panel isfastened to a pillar by the bracket, then the face of the side panelextends in a radial direction of the pillar.

By the above embodiments is obtained that the different types ofplayground elements are attached to-center of the pillars whichfacilitates the modularity of the playground and makes it easier toconstruct, modify of expand the playground in all directions. Further,the mounting of the playground elements to-center provides for andenables a full coupling and compatibility of elements to each other. Forexample, two floor panels can be attached side by side without any gapsbetween. This is very important in relation to the safety of using theplayground, where there is a demand to ensure to the extent possiblethat a playing child cannot get for example a food, a finger, or a hoodcaught in gaps or openings which otherwise in the worst case could bepotentially fatal.

By the attachment of the side panel such that the face of the side panelextends in the radial direction of the pillar is obtained, that the sidepanel can be attached alongside an edge of a floor panel, the edge ofwhich is mounted to-center.

According to further embodiment of the invention, the fastening membersare inserted into hollow pillars through T-shaped openings. In this waythe nut on the bolt can be inserted into the interior of the pillarthrough the broader upper part of the T and the bolt then passed downinto the more narrow body of the T where the bolt can then be tightened.The T-openings further provide for the same type of mounting when thebracket comprises two or more pillar coupling portions and are fastenedwith multiple bolts.

In another embodiment, the playground further comprises a number ofpillars of a second circular cross sectional area and a second series ofbrackets wherein all the brackets in the second series of brackets allcomprise the same pillar coupling portion with a contact face curved tolie against a side portion of the pillars of the second circular crosssectional area. In this way is obtained a playground with pillars of twodifferent dimensions but which is still modular. Only here the twodifferent diameters of the pillars then necessitates a further series ofbrackets with contact faces curved according to the diameter of thefurther pillars.

In a further embodiment, the playground further comprises a T-nut forthe attachment of a side panel to a floor panel, the T-nut comprising anelongated flange and having a center of gravity closer to one end of theflange than to an opposite end of the flange. Because of thedisplacement of the center of gravity, the T-nut will automatically turnwhen inserted in a hole or groove of a component, to have the heavierpart of the flange turning downward. When inserted into a horizontallyor near-horizontally oriented groove, the T-nut will thereforeautomatically turn itself into an advantageous position with the flangesend portions behind the material of the component for the nut to befastened up against. The component could for example be a rail orientedwith the rail opening horizontally or near-horizontally. The T-nuthereby is extremely well suited for connecting components where theperson assembling cannot visually inspect that the fastening nut isturned correctly into place. The quality of the playground assembly isthereby greatly improved.

The center of gravity of the T-nut being closer to one end of the flangethan to the opposite end of the flange can be obtained by the T-nuthaving an asymmetrical cross sectional profile. This provides for asimply yet effective way of obtaining a T-nut which if possible willrotate into a specific position. The asymmetrical cross sectionalprofile may for example be obtained by cutting off, removing, oromitting a portion of one of the flange ends.

According to another aspect, the invention relates to a method ofassembling a playground comprising a number of pillars of a circularcross sectional area, a series of playground elements including floorpanels and side panels, and a series of brackets for attachment of theplayground elements to the pillars, wherein all the brackets in theseries of brackets comprise an element coupling portion adapted to befastened to a playground element and a pillar coupling portion adaptedto be fastened to a side portion of a pillar. The method comprises

-   -   placing a number of pillars at predefined distances;    -   selecting a playground element from the series of playground        elements;    -   selecting a bracket from the series of bracket, the bracket        comprising an element coupling portion corresponding to the        selected playground element:    -   fastening the selected bracket to a side portion of a pillar by        inserting a fastening member into a boring of the bracket and        into the pillar in a radial direction of the pillar    -   fastening the selected playground element to the element        coupling portion of the selected bracket; and    -   subsequently mounting a detachable cover to the selected bracket        such as to cover the fastening member.

The advantages of the proposed method are as mentioned in relation tothe playground.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the following different embodiments of the invention will bedescribed with reference to the drawings, wherein:

FIGS. 1 and 2 show sketches of playgrounds according to an embodiment ofthe invention,

FIG. 3 shows an embodiment of a side panel bracket as attached to both apillar and a side panel,

FIGS. 4-5 show an embodiment of a side panel bracket in differentperspective and exploded views,

FIGS. 6-8 show two embodiments of a bar bracket in different perspectiveand exploded views, in isolation and as attached to a playgroundelement,

FIGS. 9-11 show an embodiment of a chain bracket in differentperspective views, in isolation and as attached to a chain and a pillar,

FIGS. 12-22 show embodiments of different floor panel brackets in theseries of brackets according to the invention in different views, inisolation and as attached to a floor panel,

FIGS. 23 and 24 show an embodiment of a side panel bracket in anexploded view and as seen from above as attached to a side panel and apillar, respectively,

FIG. 25 illustrates the attachment of a floor panel to a number ofpillars,

FIGS. 26-29 show two embodiments of connectors for one-sided fasteningof a floor panel to side rails and in different perspective views, and

FIGS. 30-32 show an embodiment of a T-nut according to an embodiment ofthe invention as seen in a perspective view, a cross-sectional view andfrom all sides, respectively.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1 and 2 show two different playgrounds 100 according toembodiments of the invention and both built up from a modular system ofpillars 101, different playground elements and brackets 105 forattaching the playground elements to the pillars 101. The playgroundelements in both FIGS. 1 and 2 include floor panels 102, side panels 103of different shapes and decorations, and bars 104. The playground ofFIG. 1 further comprises a net 106, and in FIG. 2 an angled panel withgrips for climbing. Because of the modularity of the playgrounds only areduced number of component are needed to build very differentplayground structures.

FIG. 3 shows an embodiment of a side panel bracket 200 as attached toboth a pillar 101 and a side panel 102 as seen in a top view. The sidepanel bracket 200 is here attached to a hollow pillar 101 be means of abolt 206 but could equally well be attached to a solid pillar by meansof a screw. The bracket 105, 200 comprises a pillar coupling portion 300and an element coupling portion 400. The element coupling portion 400,201 is for the side panel bracket 200 adapted to be fastened to the sidepanel 102, here by means of a tap or a bolt connection 204. The sidepanel bracket is in this embodiment adapted to be attached to a face ofthe side panel 102. The pillar coupling portion 300 is common for allthe brackets in the series of brackets and comprises a contact face 202curved to lie against the side portion of the pillar 101. The pillarcoupling portion 300 further comprises a boring 205 (which can be seenin FIG. 2) for receiving a fastening member 206 fastened to the pillar101. The boring is oriented as shown by the dashed line 207 in adirection approximately perpendicular to the curved contact face 202 andsuch that the fastening member 206 is mounted to-center in a radialdirection of the pillar. The side panel bracket 200 in this embodimentextends an angular width 210 of approximately 12-14 degrees. This allowsfor two side brackets to be placed side by side within an angle of 60degrees for attaching two side panels as sides to a floor panel with a60 degree corner. The side panel bracket 200 comprises a cover 203.

FIGS. 4 and 5 show in an exploded view an embodiment of a side panelbracket 200 with the same components as described in relation to FIG. 3and as seen in two different perspective views as seen from above andfrom the side of the pillar, respectively. Here, the pillar couplingportion 300 can be seen in more detail with the boring 205 for receivinga bolt 206 or a screw and with the curved contact face 202. The faces onthe nut 208 provides together with the corresponding faces 209 in theboring 205 for the bolt and nut connection to be self-tightening whenthe bolt is tightened from the outside. The small holes 211 are used ifthe cover 203 is to be removed by bending the hook 212 on the cover 203.

Another embodiment of a side panel bracket 200 is shown in the FIGS. 23and 24. This side panel bracket is configured for attachment to bothsides of a side panel 102 and therefore comprises two panel couplingportions 400. The bracket is shown in an exploded view in FIG. 23 and asseen from above when attached to a side panel 102 and a pillar 101. Thisside panel bracket 200 comprises two pillar coupling portions 300 for astronger connection to the pillar. All protruding parts of the bracket200 and the fastening members 206 are shielded off and covered by thecovers 203 each extending between the pillar and the side panel.

FIGS. 6 and 7 show two different embodiments of a bar bracket 105, 600in an exploded view. In FIG. 8 is shown a bar bracket attaching a bar104 to a pillar 101. The bar bracket 105, 600 shown in FIG. 6 isconfigured for the fastening of a bar 104 of a smaller diameter which inthis embodiment is of 38 mm in diameter, whereas the bar bracket in FIG.7 is configured for the fastening of a bar 104 of a larger diameterwhich in this embodiment is of 48 mm in diameter.

The bar bracket 600 in FIG. 6 comprises one pillar coupling portion 300including a curved contact face and a boring for the fastening member206, whereas the bar bracket shown in FIG. 7 comprises two pillarcoupling portions 300 and thus are constructed to be attached to thepillar 101 by means of two fastening members 206. The bar couplingportion 400, 601 of both bar brackets is in these embodiments the sameexcept for the dimensions corresponding to the two different diametersof the bars 104. In FIG. 8 is shown the attachment of a bar 104 to apillar 101 by means of a bar bracket 600 as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7.

FIGS. 9-11 show an embodiment of a chain bracket 900 as assembled, in anexploded view, and as fastening a chain 910 to a pillar 101,respectively. The chain bracket 900 comprises a pillar coupling portion300 similar to the other brackets 105 in the series of brackets, andcomprising a curved contact face adapted to lie against the pillar and aboring oriented for the fastening member 206 to be oriented in a radialdirection of the pillar 101. The chain bracket 900 further comprises anelement coupling portion 400, 901 which is specially adapted to fastento the chain 910. In this embodiment this is done by a transverselyoriented pin 909 placed to go through an eye in the end of the chain910.

FIGS. 12-22 show different embodiments of floor panel brackets 1200 inthe series of brackets according to the invention, where the bracketsare shown in perspective and exploded views from different angles. InFIGS. 16, 17, 18 is shown a floor panel 102 as attached to a pillar 101by means of a floor panel bracket as shown alone in the FIGS. 12-15. Theconnection is here shown in an exploded view (FIG. 16), and as seen fromabove and below, respectively (FIGS. 17 and 18, respectively). The floorpanel brackets shown in the FIGS. 12-18 is for attaching a 90 degreescorner of a floor panel to a pillar. In FIGS. 19-20 and 21-22 are shownsimilar floor panel brackets but for the connection of a 60 degreescorner and a 45 degrees corner of a floor panel, respectively.

The floor panel bracket 1200 like the other brackets 105 in the seriesof brackets comprises a pillar coupling portion 300 or interface wherethe bracket is attached to the pillar 101. The 90 degrees floor panelbracket of FIGS. 12-18 comprises two such pillar coupling portions 300to provide a stronger connection. The two fastening members 206 as wellas the corresponding bores 205 are all oriented to-center, but areplaced in a displaced relationship at different heights and at differentradial positions. This may best be viewed in the top view of FIG. 13where the orientation of the fastening members 206 and the bores 205 areoutlined by the dashed lines. The floor panel bracket 1200 furthercomprises an element coupling portion 1201 adapted to attach to thefloor panel 102. One or more of the edges of the floor panel 102 mayfurther be covered by rails 1210 in case the floor panel is not mountedin abutment to another floor panel. The floor panel 102 and the rails1210 are attached to the floor panel bracket by a set of bolts or screws1202.

The floor panel brackets may be made in different angular width 210 suchas corresponding to 45, 60, and 90 degrees corners of a floor panel.FIGS. 19-20 and 21-22 show floor panel brackets 1200 of angular widths210 of 60 degrees and 45 degrees, respectively. These floor panelbrackets comprise the same components and are attached in the samemanner as the floor panel bracket of FIGS. 12-19. Only both thesebrackets comprise only one pillar coupling portion 300 each mainlybecause of the more restricted space available.

FIG. 25 illustrates the attachment of a floor panel 102 to a number ofpillars 101, A number of side rails 1210 are set up in between thepillars by means of floor panel brackets (not shown). Cross rails 2500may be used in between the side rails for larger floor panels or toprovide further stiffness to the floor panels in general. The floorpanel 102 is then placed on top of the rails 1210, 2500 and brackets,resting on the rails. The floor panel is attached to the brackets bymeans of the covers 203 (not shown) in each corner also closing off anygaps between the floor panel and the pillars or the brackets. Further,the floor panel 102 is attached to the side rails 1210 by means of siderail connectors 2600 which are shown in more details in FIGS. 26 and 27.The cross rail 2500 is attached to the side rails 2600 by means of across rail connector 2800 which is shown in more details in FIGS. 28 and29.

Both the side rail connector 2600 and the cross rail connector 2800comprise a flange portion 2601 of an elongated shape and configured forinsertion into the rail groove 2602. The connectors further comprises athreaded boring 2603. When inserted into a side rail 2600, the connectoris then turned approximately 90 degrees to hereby provide for attachmentof the cross rail 2500 or the floor panel 102 by means of a screw or abolt inserted into the boring 2603. The connectors in this way providesfor a one-sided fastening of the floor panel or a cross rail to the siderails.

FIGS. 30-32 show an embodiment of a T-nut 3000 according to anembodiment of the invention as seen in a perspective view, across-sectional view, and from all sides, respectively.

The T-nut 3000 is advantageous for the attachment of a side panel 102 toa side rail 1210 thereby connecting the side panel to the floor panel.The T-nut comprises an elongated flange 3100 configured and sized forinserting into the groove 2602 of a side rail 1210. The T-nut 3000 isshown in a perspective view in FIG. 30 and from all sides, i.e. from thetop and three sides in FIG. 32. In FIG. 31 is shown in a cross sectionalview a T-nut 3000 and a mating bolt 106 connecting a side 1210 and aside panel 102.

S best seen in FIGS. 30 and 32, the T-nut comprises an elongated flange3100 with an asymmetrical cross sectional profile. Thereby the center ofgravity for the T-nut is closer to one end of the flange than to theopposite end of the flange, or in other words the T-nut is heavier nearone end of the flange that the other. This is obtained by the cut-offportion 3200 of one end of the flange. When the T-nut is inserted intothe groove 2602 of the rail 1210, the T-nut then automatically turn. Inthis way the flanges are automatically positioned ready for tightening.

Also, two corners 3300 of the flange 3100 may be rounded to aid in therotation of the T-nut. Also, one corner 3400 of the flange 3100 may beshaped more sharply to aid in stopping the rotation of the T-nut.

The special shape of the T-nut ensures that the T-nut is alwayscorrectly positioned in the rail without the assembler having toactively turn the nut. The T-nut can then be correctly positioned evenwhen the assembler cannot easily see or inspect the other side of theassembly as is often the case when relatively large side panels arehandled and mounted to other parts. The quality of the playgroundassembly is thereby greatly improved.

While preferred embodiments of the invention have been described, itshould be understood that the invention is not so limited andmodifications may be made without departing from the invention. Thescope of the invention is defined by the appended claims, and alldevices that come within the meaning of the claims, either literally orby equivalence, are intended to be embraced therein.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A playground comprising a plurality ofpillars having a circular cross sectional area, a series of playgroundelements including floor panels and side panels, and a series ofbrackets for attachment of the playground elements to the pillars,wherein all the brackets in the series of brackets comprise an elementcoupling portion configured to be fastened to a playground element and apillar coupling portion configured to be fastened to a side portion of apillar, the pillar coupling portion comprising a contact face curved tolie against the side portion of the pillar and a boring for receiving afastening member to be inserted a distance into the pillar, the boringbeing oriented in a direction approximately perpendicular to the curvedcontact face such that the bracket when fastened to the pillar isattached by the fastening member inserted from the bracket and into thepillar in a radial direction of the pillar, wherein the series ofbrackets comprises brackets with element coupling portions configured tobe fastened to each of the playground elements in the series ofplayground elements, wherein all the brackets in the series of bracketscomprise substantially identical pillar coupling portions such that allthe brackets are configured to be attached to the pillars in the sameway, wherein the series of brackets comprises a floor panel bracket withan element coupling portion configured to be fastened to a cornerportion of a floor panel, and wherein the element coupling portion isoriented such that when the floor panel is fastened to a pillar by thebracket, then the edges of the floor panel extend in a radial directionof the pillar.
 2. The playground according to claim 1, wherein a bracketin the series of brackets further comprises a cover detachably mountedto the bracket.
 3. The playground according to claim 2, wherein thecover is shaped to extend between the pillar and the playground element.4. The playground according to claim 2, wherein the cover is detachablymounted to cover any protruding parts of the bracket and/or cover a gapbetween the bracket and the playground element.
 5. The playgroundaccording to claim 1, wherein the pillars comprise solid pillars and thefastening member comprises screws.
 6. The playground according to claim1, wherein the pillars comprise hollow pillars and the fastening membercomprises bolts and nuts.
 7. The playground according to claim 6,wherein the fastening members are inserted into the hollow pillarsthrough T-shaped openings.
 8. The playground according to claim 1,wherein the pillars are made of wood or a metal.
 9. The playgroundaccording to claim 1, wherein the pillars are made of a compositematerial.
 10. The playground according to claim 1, wherein one or moreof the brackets of the series of brackets comprises two pillar couplingportions arranged on the bracket such that the bracket is attached tothe pillar by two fastening members inserted into the pillar atdifferent heights and in two different radial directions.
 11. Theplayground according to claim 1, wherein the fastening member isinserted a distance into the pillar, the distance being smaller than thediameter of the pillar.
 12. The playground according to claim 1, whereinall the brackets of the series of brackets when attached to a pillarhave an angular width of less than 90 degrees as measured from thecenter of the pillar and in a plane perpendicular to the center axis ofthe pillar.
 13. The playground according to claim 1, wherein the seriesof playground elements further comprises a series of bars of predefineddiameters.
 14. The playground according to claim 13, wherein the seriesof brackets comprises a bar bracket with an element coupling portionconfigured to be fastened to an end of a cylindrical bar, and whereinthe element coupling portion is oriented such that when the bar isfastened to a pillar by the bracket, then the bar extends in a radialdirection of the pillar.
 15. The playground according to claim 1,wherein the series of playground elements further comprises a chain. 16.The playground according to claim 1, wherein the series of bracketscomprises a side panel bracket with an element coupling portionconfigured to be fastened to a face of a side panel, and wherein theelement coupling portion of the side panel bracket is oriented such thatwhen the side panel is fastened to a pillar by the bracket, then theface of the side panel extends in a radial direction of the pillar. 17.The playground according to claim 1, further comprising a plurality ofpillars of a second circular cross sectional area and a second series ofbrackets, wherein all the brackets in the second series of bracketscomprise the same pillar coupling portion with a contact face curved tolie against a side portion of the pillars of the second circular crosssectional area.
 18. The playground according to claim 1, furthercomprising a T-nut for the attachment of a side panel to a floor panel,the T-nut comprising an elongated flange and having a center of gravitycloser to one end of the flange than to an opposite end of the flange.19. The playground according to claim 18, wherein the flange of theT-nut has an asymmetrical cross sectional profile.